Hi everyone I will be getting a pup at the end of the month, so am new to all this. Sorry if people have already asked this question. Have read Pippa's puppy book from cover to cover and am planning to follow her house training advice, including waking up in the night and slowly extending the time gaps between wees. My question is, if the pup isn't howling and obviously needing the loo at 3am, do I wake him and put him out anyway? Or will this be too disturbing? Ideally I'd like to avoid leaving it so that he is howling and desparate for the loo, but I don't want to disturb his natural cycle either...hmmmm! Any advice much appreciated! Sally
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? Hi Sally You will probably find your pup wakes you. Izzy is just over 11 weeks and she's going out once in the night, but at first it was 2 or 3 times. All pups are different though and I know some can go 6 hours. I'm sure you're very excited to be getting your pup, hope to see some pics!
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? Yes - they are all very different. I am a Guide Dog puppy walker and meet lots of pups every week. I always ask, of the babies, 'do they sleep through?' Some do, from 8 weeks old and others take 'till 14 weeks before they can hold it in. Their bladders develop at very different rates. Lucky pup Mums and Dads get sleepers from day 1. My Tatze was one of them, but Gypsy took until she was 12 weeks (and I was exhausted!!) (You will soon find out which yours is and can plan to put your alarm on before s/he wakes - I would wait a few nights as they can cry anyway when settling in. Then, when you know it's a 'wee wake' not a 'I'm lonely' wake you, can start to pre-empt it. I knew when Gypsy didn't need it any more as she didn't want to wake up)
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? With Willow, I took Pippa's advice and set my alarm for two and a half hours to start off with, then extended it by 15 minutes each night. She would wake as soon as she heard me get up anyway, so I never had to actually wake her up. I was lucky with whining and she only did that a couple of nights when we first put her to bed, and only for a few minutes before settling. She then had a bit of a bad tummy stage (lots of puppies do have sensitive tums) and she'd wake and whine to be let out. After the first night where I had to change the bed three times, because it was literally *whine-poo!*, I ended up sleeping on the sofa for a few nights so I could get her out quickly. Once she settled down from that, though, I decided to take her cue on when she needed to go out, so let her wake me with a whine. She doesn't do an incessant whine to be let out, just a quick one to say "I need the loo", so I don't think it's encouraging her to be whiney. I didn't get Shadow until after that phase, so he slept straight through from day 1, which was awesome Now, they sleep through the night but the other night, Shadow had a bit of a squiffy tummy, so woke me a couple of times in the night. In the past, Willow would have bounded out with a "Good Morning!!!" at 4am, but now, she just raises an eyebrow, turns over and goes back to sleep while Shadow gets on with his business
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? I waited until my pup woke me up, think the first two nights it was in the middle of the night, but in no time he was sleeping through until 6pm and a couple of weeks later he was sleeping until we got up at 8pm. I sometimes think that by waking them it disturbs their sleep and gets them into the habit of waking. A friend put the pup to bed as late as she could, set the alarm clock for 5am and then each successive day set the alarm ten minutes later.
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? I was in your position too Sally, the breeder told me not to wake her up or I'd make a rod for my own back and to just have newspaper .... Did that first 2 nights, then she started holding herself and now she will go to bed at 10.30-11pm, cry to be let out at 6am ( this used to be 5am) then she will wee and go back in her crate for another 45 mins. Puppy will let you know what she needs. Maybe have her with you first few nights so you can hear her? ( I had too as Bella was really distressed ).
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? My two have been fairly different. First puppy was Riley (lab) and he's been a very quiet dog from day one. We went with the "set the alarm" clock for him as he didn't really make much noise. We gradually moved it back and that worked well. Second puppy Obi (spaniel) has been quite vocal and if he wants out you know about it. We worked much more to his timetable as he varied wildly in the first few weeks. He settled into a routine after a little while though and then we gradually extended the time before we rushed downstairs. Both my puppies have been crated to start with, Riley is now confined to the kitchen overnight and Obi is in a crate in the kitchen.
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? I can't remember the exact timings we went for but Inca had a small bladder so we were getting up a few times during the night for the first few weeks with her. It was a bit trial and error, the first night we left her too long and she had to go in the crate. After that we shortened the timings up and increased it by 30mins every time we got 3 clear nights in a row. Sometimes we were waking her up but I don't think it has had any long term effect on her. She has never tried to wake us up in the night and now we are always the ones waking her up in the morning.
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? I spent a couple of weeks getting up in the night for murphy, and I made it later each night. I remember being told to set my alarm and wake him up for a wee rather than let him wake me, otherwise the barking or noise would be rewarded by me coming down and letting him out. I didn't always time it right though but lost of the time I woke him. In a couple of weeks when we bring our pup home I will do the same with her and set my alarm to wake her x
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? Pongo was pretty easy. His first night with us, he messed in his bed (but I am sure that was just nerves). The next two or three nights he woke us up at about 3am, and really did need a wee. (We were told to pick him up and carry him to the outside, because he would be very unlikely to wee when being carried!). After just a few nights, though, he was sleeping through til about 5.30, when OH was happy* to get up and start the day. That got later and later until now we need to wake him up in the morning at 7.30 because he'd be perfectly happy to sleep on and on and on.... Toilet training during the day took a lot longer. It really is true that the instinct to NOT go in the bed area is a strong one. Pongo didn't really have full bladder control during the day until much later, but he never, never messed his bed after that first night. *that might not be quite the right word!
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? [quote author=Rosie link=topic=9399.msg135176#msg135176 date=1420555221] Pongo was pretty easy. His first night with us, he messed in his bed (but I am sure that was just nerves). The next two or three nights he woke us up at about 3am, and really did need a wee. (We were told to pick him up and carry him to the outside, because he would be very unlikely to wee when being carried!). After just a few nights, though, he was sleeping through til about 5.30, when OH was happy* to get up and start the day. That got later and later until now we need to wake him up in the morning at 7.30 because he'd be perfectly happy to sleep on and on and on.... Bella is doing so well but can't wait for her to hang on...!!!! I would love a dog who likes to sleep on and on in the morning.
Re: Should I wake my dog in the night? That's brill, thanks so much everyone for the advice. I'm going to keep him with me for the first few nights, then crate downstairs in kitchen/utility. I'll initially set my alarm as Pippa suggests, if he's asleep the first night then I'll wake him but set my alarm for later the next day and then, like you all say, just work with the dog and get to know his needs and go from there. Honestly this site is a Godsend! Sally x
How did this go? I've a pup that is lasting til 5am but really desperate and is asleep again within about 20 mins but will not return to pen. Debating whether I should start the alarm call trip to pee or whether that's muddling things for him.
Cooper and Tilly both were crated in the bed room when they were pups. They always woke us up if they needed to go out, even at 7 weeks. The first few nights we didn't get a lot of sleep, but by about 10 weeks I think they both were making it through the night most of the time. I don't think either one had more than one accident in the crate, and that may have been diarrhea or something.
